In a recent blog post, Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, claimed that a typical ChatGPT query utilizes about one 15th of a teaspoon of water. However, he did not clarify whether this figure pertains to the cooling of servers or the environmental implications of AI hardware production and installation.

So, how significant is this water usage? On the surface, it appears minimal. Yet, OpenAI processes around one billion queries daily, potentially translating to 85,000 gallons of water used every day.

This figure is just a fraction of the 322 billion gallons of water consumed daily in the USA, representing 0.0000026% of the total. Comparatively, it is just 0.0001% of the average American’s home water usage per day, suggesting that using ChatGPT would require an unrealistic number of queries to impact individual water consumption meaningfully.

Despite these figures, it’s essential to remain cautious. Water usage might not be the primary concern surrounding AI; the energy consumption of AI systems is a critical issue. Estimates indicate that AI uses about 20% of all data center power, prompting Altman to seek funding for nuclear fusion power plants to mitigate AI’s power demands.